It's worth looking at the 12 step program of Alcoholics Anonymous for guidance. The program works for many, because it involves a basic restructuring of character, by relying on a higher power and strong group support.
Let's look at the steps, one by one, and see how they apply. The steps are in red, and slightly modified for this paper.
1. We admit we are powerless over our addiction - that our lives have become unmanageable. We are codependent with the corporate beast that is gobbling up resources and laying waste to our planet. We work for the beast, buy from the beast, are insured by the beast. All we really need is daily bread, a roof over our heads and a couple of outfits, but unless forced into simplicity by war or other disaster, we remain consumers, buying into the political/social structure of destruction.
2. We have come to believe that only a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity Belief in a loving Creator who can guide us to a peaceful future is rare these days. Global human consciousness is permeated either with cynicism or with sectarian fanaticism. The first leads to despair about the future, living for self in the moment, abandoning future generations. The second, a horrible perversion of religion, involves following false prophets who preach hatred and warfare. Neither is sane.
It takes great faith to believe that sanity is still possible. Yet scriptures and prophecies of many spiritual paths predict this difficult time and assure us of a good outcome. Faith is essential to making the inner changes that allow us to be the change agents that are needed in 2015.
3. We are making a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand God Many of us are trying very hard to protect the future of life. This work is aligned with what the Creator of life wants for us. Survival for ourselves and our descendants is built into our DNA. If we turn our lives over to Creator and devote ourselves to this work, His/Her work, we CAN make peace and clean up the planetary mess; or rather, the Creator of history and ultimate mover of human affairs can accomplish it through us.
4. We are making a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves Each of us has flaws that impede us in this work, and prevent full Creative energy from flowing through us. Our flaws slow us down, interfere with working cooperatively, cause frustration and confusion. Perhaps we are greedy, or overly narcissistic, or quarrelsome. If we understand our flaws, we can overcome or work around them.
5. We are admitting to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs This step forces us to take step 4 very seriously, and grow thereby. It's also a step toward networking and forming support groups to further the work.
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